


Be Okay

by Katybug1992



Series: Unexpectedly Bonded [1]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: AU: 3/4 Staals still in Carolina, AU: Parker only child for now, Accidental Bonding, Alpha Jeff, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Kind of angsty, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Omega Jared, Protective brothers, mentions of mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 00:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19878931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katybug1992/pseuds/Katybug1992
Summary: Jared takes a bad hit that ends his career and end up bonded to Jeff while re-learning how to live off of his Suppressants.





	Be Okay

Being the youngest Staal wasn’t bad. Sure, there was always the pressure to be as good as, or better, than his brothers, but that was the same for every younger sibling, especially those with older siblings scattered around the League. But being the Omega Staal...that was a whole other story. Eric worried more, Marc became a very good listener, and Jordan threw punches...on and off the ice. But Jared never made an effort to hide his Omega status, used the backlash that came with it to fuel him. Until he couldn’t.

It came out of nowhere, a clear dirty hit right into the boards, the words spat at him the last thing he heard before his world went dark.

When he woke back up, he was in a hospital room, with a bad headache, and the head trainer for the Checkers telling him that the doctors did what they could, but the damage to his shoulder was bad enough that it would never fully heal. So, that was it. That was how his career ended. Jared didn’t say anything, just retreated into his head. He would never play in the NHL, never play professionally, again. He was silent until Eric and Jordan burst through the door, obviously having headed to Charlotte directly from their game.

Jordan joined Jared at the bed while Eric pulled the trainer aside to ask every question that popped into his head, looking over Jared’s chart like it made any sense to him, face falling the more information he got.

“It’s going to be okay,” Jordan whispered to his little brother, “We got you.”

Jared didn’t respond, just let his brothers do what they needed to make themselves think they were helping, that they could help with this.

While Jordan tried in vain to comfort Jared, Eric was tasked with calling their parents and Marc. The incident had been immediately broadcasted, Coach pulling him and Jordan aside to let them know. To say they played a lot more aggressively the ten minutes of the game was an understatement. Right after they changed, they were in Eric’s car, Eric calling their parents to say they would give them an update when they got to the hospital while Jordan was tasked with convincing Marc not to get on the first plane to North Carolina.

Eric finally got off the phone with their mother, convincing her to wait to come down until they got Jared moved into Eric’s house, the oldest brother already deciding that that is what was going to happen, when he joined his brothers at the bed.

“I managed to stave off Hurricane Mom for a couple of days,” Eric said, “Marc, on the other hand, may be a different story. I told him you wouldn’t want him to come down and make a fuss, but I don’t think he really cares about what you want right now.”

“Thanks for trying.” Jared replied quietly, not really wanting to talk to anyone but knowing there was no way his brothers were leaving the hospital until he did.  
“Tanya is getting your room set up for you.” Eric continued, “We’ll help you pack your stuff.”

Jared knew better than to argue. What reason would he have to stay in Charlotte if he couldn’t play?

The next day was a string of teammates coming to visit, doctors running various tests, and brothers hovering, Marc having showed up several hours later. There is something to be said about Staal stubbornness; the combination of his three older brothers convinced the staff to ignore the visiting hours rule and allowed them to stay with him until he was released. From the hospital, Eric went with him to talk to his trainers, coaches, and teammates while Jordan and Marc went to pick up moving supplies and started packing up Jared’s room and grabbing items that were obviously his that were scattered around the place.

Finally, they were heading back to Raleigh, Jared choosing to ride back with Marc to get a break from Eric’s mother-henning, relishing in the silence of the car. Marc always knew when to talk, when to listen, and when to let Jared decided which he needed at the moment, and for that Jared was incredible grateful to Marc. Eric had been all worried looks and constant questions and Jordan had intense anger thrumming through him that he needed to get out but knowing that he wouldn’t be able to retaliate against the person who did this to his little brother.

When they got to Eric’s house, Jared grabbed his duffle and threw it over his good shoulder and headed into the house, up to the room that Eric had dubbed his when Carolina got his rights. He didn’t bother turning on the light, just dropped his bag, shut the door and got in bed, burying himself in the blankets that smelled like home and closed his eyes.

He woke up to his mom unburying him and groaned. It made sense that Eric couldn’t hold their parents off forever, but a couple more days to allow him to mope would have been nice. For the next few days, he put up being babied, only shooting the occasional glares at his brothers who were enjoying watching it a little too much. But then Marc had to go back to New York, Eric and Jordan’s homestand ended and they left for a five game road trip, and their parents went back to Thunder Bay, allowing him to finally have time to mope by myself. Tanya understood, dropping off the occasional sandwich and working on keeping Parker away from Jared’s room.

By the time Eric was home, Jared had moved on from staying in his dark room and was spending the days with Parker, letting Tanya do whatever she wanted or needed to do. Parker was excited to have his favorite uncle staying at the house full time, but knew that he had to be more gentle than he was used to being.

Time passed, Jared’s shoulder healed as much as it was ever going to, but he could use it now, which was a plus. Jordan had finally punched all of his anger at the situation out. Eric worried. Marc got to the person Jared complained to, convincing Eric that maybe getting Jared out of Carolina for a little bit would help the youngest, maybe he could meet someone.

That was the new most annoying thing. His brothers, mainly Eric and Marc, had gotten it into their heads that Jared should now find a nice Alpha and settle down. It was annoying, but he still took Marc’s offer of three weeks away from Eric and Eric’s mothering. And he thoroughly enjoyed himself. 

While he was playing, he took a strong Suppressant cocktail. Since he got hurt, he was able to lower his dosage. His usual dosage didn’t mix with the painkillers and he just never went back up. He finally let his instincts help guide his decision making. And those instincts lead to some great moments, and repeats of previous moments of weakness. Moments his brothers probably shouldn’t find out about.

Ever since Jared presented, his older brothers instituted the “Locker Room Rule”, which basically said that no one in the locker room was allowed to fuck their brother, or talk about fucking their brother, or think about fucking their brother. Baby Staal was firmly off limits. It annoyed Jared, but he loved when that rule got broken. It made getting laid easy. He didn’t want his brothers to find out and his partner really didn’t want his brothers to find out. It was a win-win. 

He arrives back in Raleigh feeling better. He drives to the Hurricanes’ training center, where he had arranged with Eric to pick up Parker for the rest of the day. Walking into the locker room with ease, he greeted the guys he knew before going over to his brothers and nephew, who launched himself off the bench when he caught sight of Jared. Laughing, Jared picked up Parker, only wincing a little and pointedly not looking at Eric, who definitely caught the wince. 

“How was New York?” Jordan asked, nudging Eric to stop him addressing the aforementioned wince.

“It was good.” Jared nodded, “Hung out with Marc, couple other guys.”

“Meet anyone?” Eric tried not to sound too much like he was prying.

“I heard Sean Avery has been looking for a nice Omega.” Jordan added, purely to get under his older brother’s skin.

“Been there, done that,” Jared shrugged, “He’s all talk and no knot.”

Before his brothers could process what had been said, Jared turned and left the locker room, talking to Parker about the park and snacks he had packed for the afternoon. Laughing as Jordan and Eric tried to figure out if he was serious or just messing with them.

The afternoon was spent with his nephew, running around, eating snacks, and pushing all negative thoughts to the back of his mind, there was time for those while in the shower and trying to fall asleep at night. For now, he would repay Eric and Tanya for letting him live with them by tiring out their rambunctious child.

When he got back to Eric’s, he dropped the backpack carefully by the door and took the sleeping toddler upstairs, expertly getting him changed and tucked in all while not waking him up. He stopped by his room to change before heading downstairs, stopping briefly when he saw Jeff and Cam seated at the table. Shaking himself out of the surprise, he continued on his path to the backpack, which he pulled the leftover snacks out of and made his way to the kitchen to put them away. 

“Where’s Eric?” Jared asked Tanya, casually ducking Jordan’s attempt at a nouggie and taking his usual seat at the table.

“He’s calling Marc,” Tanya replied, “apparently, your little comment got under his skin.”

“Marc doesn’t know.” Jared muttered, “Not worth letting him know.”

“But the Rule -” Jordan’s whine was cut off but Jared rolling his eyes.

“You three are the only ones who care about that rule.” Jared replied, “I’ve never met an Alpha who turned down their chance with me because that rule.”

Cam tried to stifle his laughter while Jeff blushed...hard.

“Do I want to know?” Jordan asked wearily.

“Sid’s not nearly as good as people think he would be.” Jared smirked back, watching the face journey his brother went on after that revelation.

“I’m going to go check on Eric and Marc.” Jordan pulled his phone, furiously texting, Jared could only assume, his former Captain.

“You feeling more yourself?” Tanya asked, sitting down next to him after gesturing to Jeff and Cam to start eating without their teammate.

“Yeah.” Jared nodded, “PT ramps up tomorrow, but I’m finally starting to feel settled.”

“Eric wants to go to your PT appointment with you.” Tanya served herself.

“Well, Eric doesn’t always get what he wants.” Jared scoffed.

“He worries, you know that.” Tanya gave him a look, which made Jared roll his eyes.

“He got to you, didn’t he? Are you going to join the Get-Jared-An-Alpha Train now?” Jared slumped in his seat, “I don’t need an Alpha. I’m finally getting used to life on a low dose of Suppressants, I want to enjoy that for a bit.”

“Maybe talk to him, then.” Tanya replied.

“We don’t talk about this kind of thing.” Jared replied, “We talk about all topics under the sun, but my life as an Omega is the one topic we don’t touch.”

“And you think that’s healthy?” Tanya raised an eyebrow.

“I never said it’s healthy,” Jared rolled his eyes, “just that that’s how it is.”

Tanya was prevented from responding by Jordan and Eric coming back into the room, Eric’s phone being shoved at Jared, “Marc wants a word.”

Jared sighed, rolled his eyes, and pressed the End Call button, “I’ll call him later. You have company.”

Eric gave him an unamused look, but pocketed the phone, giving his teammates a dark look, “Despite members of other teams who seem to have forgotten The Rule, I want to reiterate to the team that it still applies.”

Cam laughed again and Jeff stared at his plate intensely.

“By the way,” Jared turned to Eric as his brother began eating, “you’re not going to PT with me.”

That started Eric on a rant that Jared studiously ignored, well used to how his brother could get.

Dinner was uneventful after that, aside from Jared catching Jeff stealing glances at him several times. Even though he only saw glimpses, he knew that particular look very well. Many an Alpha had given him that look since he was a teenager. One glance at Tanya told him that she had noticed the glances as well, he made a note to tell her to keep it to herself.

When dinner was over, he helped Tanya to clear the table and then snuck upstairs to call Marc, ignoring his brothers fighting over the X-Box controller.

“Should I tell Avery you were unimpressed?” was the first thing out of Marc’s mouth when he answered the phone.

“I expected a little more from him is all.” Jared replied, laughing as Marc groaned.

“Can we change the subject?”

“You brought up this subject.”

“Fine.” Marc sighed, “Eric going to PT with you tomorrow?”

“No.” 

“He know that?”

“I told him that.”

All he got in response was laughter. They were quiet for a moment before Marc said, “How’re you doin’, kid?”

He knew better than to ask the question when Jared was staying with him in New York.

“It’s hard, but I’m pushing through.”

“Bullshit.”

That’s all it took for Jared to break, for the first time since the incident, he spilled his guts. Everything coming out, even things he hadn’t planned on telling anyone ever. He just kept talking, and tears started, and Marc just listened. He didn’t try to fix it, he didn’t try to lighten the mood, he sat in his apartment in New York and listened to his little brother pour out everything that he had ever carried on his shoulders and then some. 

When Jared finally hung up, he felt a little lighter, but thoroughly exhausted. He dragged himself to the shower and when he got out, Jordan was lounging on his bed.

“What do you want?” Jared definitely did not whine at all.

“Why didn’t you stay downstairs?” Jordan asked.

“Said I’d call Marc.” Jared shrugged, “He’s got early practice and I didn’t want him staying up late because of me.”

“Come here.” Jordan pulled his little brother down onto the bed and hugged him tightly, “That’s from Marc. He didn’t tell me anything, but he wanted me to give it to you and expressly did not want Eric to since it would just make him worry ...well, worry more.”

Jared let it happen, curling up slightly into his brother, tucking his face into Jordan’s neck like he always used to when he was younger. Jordan just laid there with him, trying to shake off the twinges of annoyance that Marc was the one that Jared had always opened up to, the one who relayed when Jared needed something that the youngest brother would never ask Jordan or Eric for directly.

The next morning, they both woke up groaning, realizing they were both definitely too big to sleep like that now.

“I’m using your shower.” Jordan muttered, stumbling to the shower after stealing sweatpants and a shirt from Jared, who just grunted in response.

Jared took a minute before pulling himself out of the bed and downstairs, heading straight to the coffee maker.

“Jeff?” he asked after taking a large drink from his mug.

“You Staals are all the same,” Jeff grinned, holding out a plate of toast, “Useless before you have coffee.”

“You were standing there the whole time?”

“Yup. Toast?”

Jared just nodded, accepting the food.

“So, Sid, huh?” Jeff grinned.

Jared let out a loud laugh, nodding, “Yeah. Made that mistake three times. He tried to mark me the second time and I told him that I would cut his knot off and make his life miserable if he didn’t put his teeth away.”

It was Jeff’s turn to laugh, “Can’t find an Alpha that meets your expectations?”

“Something like that.”

“You’re up!” Eric grinned, walking into the room, “Jordan and I were thinking that maybe Jeffy could take you out tonight, you could meet some new, non-hockey playing, people.”

“Sure.” Jared smirked over at Jeff who had turned that same crimson color he had at dinner.

He grinned into his cup before schooling his face as Eric came to stand next to him, “So, what did you and Marc talk about last night.”

“Just stuff.” Jared shrugged, looking down at his coffee.

Eric let out an irritated sigh but was prevented from responded when Jordan came downstairs and took Jared’s cup from him, draining the rest of the liquid and ignoring Jared’s complaints.

“Why does he talk to you and not me?” Eric demanded, glaring at the wall.

“Eric,” Marc sighed, “just drop it.”

“But I’m here, not you. If he needs something, I need to know.”

“Look, he’s always idolized you. He doesn’t want to you to see him as a weak, helpless Omega. And I know you don’t see him that way, but you’re his favorite and you seeing him as anything other than Just Jared is something he wouldn’t be able to handle.”

“So I just stand there and watch him hurting?”

“Of course not. Just be there. He’ll let you know if it gets really bad. He’s still getting used to living as an Omega. The Suppressant Cocktail he used to be on caused him to basically live as a Beta who happened to have pseudo-heats that last less than 24 hours.”

“Pseudo-heats he spent with Sean fucking Avery.” 

“Only twice.”

“Twice?!”

“Eric, it was in the past and won’t happen again.”

“Does Avery want it to happen again?”

“I don’t know what Avery wants, but Jared doesn’t want him again and that’s what matters.”

“Do you know who else in the League?”

“I only know what you guys know. We don’t tend to talk about his sex life.”

“So I just have to wait for him to have a breakdown that you can’t help with for him to talk to me?”

“He’ll come to you, just let him adjust and give him some space.”

“He’s going to a bar tonight with Jeff.”

“You okay with that?”

“It was mine and Jordan’s idea. Why?”

“You just seem very set on your team obeying The Rule.”

“No, they’re just going as friends. Jared needs to meet someone not in the hockey world.”

Marc laughed and the two said their good-byes and hung up as Jeff walked into the locker room.

“Hey,” Eric smiled over at the younger male.

“Hey,” Jeff replied, sitting down and pulling his track pants on.

“Look after him tonight.” Eric instructed, “Maybe he’ll talk to you about it.”

“I think he’ll talk to you eventually.” Jeff replied, “He just needs time.”

“You sound like Marc.”

Jeff just laughed and finished getting changed, “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“See ya.”

They were two drinks in when Jared pulled him out onto the dance floor, pressing himself against Jeff, who placed his hands possessively on Jared’s hip and glared at any Alpha who looked in the Omega’s direction. An hour of dancing later, Jared froze.

“You okay?” Jeff asked, confusion and concern forcing him out of the lustful semi-haze he had been in.

“We need to get out of here.” Jared replied, eyes hooded and breathing picking up slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Heat.” Jared panted out, pulling Jeff toward the door.

“Do you want me to take you back to Eric’s?”

Jared shook his head vehemently, “I haven’t had a full heat since I first presented. It’s gonna be bad.”

“I...I could help you...only if you want me to.”

Jared looked over at him, assessing him carefully before nodding, “Okay. I’ll let Eric know I’m going to hang out at yours this weekend.”

“Okay,” Jeff choked out, taking Jared’s hand and leading him down the road, thanking God they went to the place a couple blocks away.

When they got back to his place, he found himself pressed against the door as Jared kissed him. He took a minute of enjoy the Omega taking control until Jared let out a whine. Jeff smirked before pushing him away and saying, “Go to my room. I’m going to grab some water bottles and food and meet you in there.”

Jared whine, but did as he was told. Jeff took the time he was gathering supplies to cool down and get his head back on straight, Jared would be out of it soon and it wouldn’t be safe for both of them to be in a haze. When he got to the room, he almost dropped what he was holding at the site of Jared stretched out, naked, on his bed. One look from the Omega had him scrambling to put the food and water down.

The weekend was a blur and Jeff groaned when his alarm went off.

“Stay,” he grumbled when Jared went to roll out of bed, opening his eyes a crack when he felt Jared freeze, “You okay?”

“I just obeyed you.” Jared replied after a minute, “The only Alphas I have ever obeyed are my brothers, and even then it’s more a choice to obey them.”

“Did I accidentally use Alpha Voice?”

“I don’t think so…” 

“Why don’t you use the shower first?”

“Why don’t we both go use the shower together?”

“Because I have the end of season meeting and I don’t think walking in there smelling like I just fucked my captain’s baby brother would be a good idea.”

“I think it sounds like a fantastic idea.”  
Jeff laughed at the grin on Jared face before urging him into the bathroom.

He started picking up the empty water bottles and power bar wrappers when he Jared cried, “Dude, what the Hell!?”

“What’s wrong?”

“You fucking marked me!”

Jared came out of the bathroom and pointed at the bond mark, still dark and swollen slightly.

“I-I…” Jeff was at a loss of words as he walked over to Jared, gently touching the mark, which seemed to still be tender judging from the way Jared shuddered and his eyes slipped shut.

“Nothing we can do about it now,” Jared replied after taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

“But…”

“Look, somewhere in that head of yours, you wanted me. And probably not for the same reasons as every other Alpha that’s looked at me, especially not for the same reasons as Crosby or Avery.”

“You’re okay with this? I mean, it’s permanent...”

“Do you plan to control me?”

“Of course not.”

“Then, yes. It will take some getting used to, but it’ll be fine.”

“Okay…”

“You just have to figure out how to tell Eric.”

“Why do I have to?!”

“Because you’re the one who lost control and bonded with me.”

Jared walked over and dragged him into a kiss before going back into the bathroom to shower, leaving Jeff sitting there in a daze.

The end of season meeting was wrapping up and Jeff still had not figured out how to broach the topic with Eric, or with Jordan, both of who knew something was up because he was definitely not good at pretending that everything was normal.

“You okay, Skinny?” Eric asked, coming to stand next to Jeff.

“I’m fine.” Jeff definitely did not squeak out.

“What the hell happened to your neck, kid?!” Cam’s voice carried through the room, turning heads to swivel to the door that Jared had just entered, his mark on full view.

Eric and Jordan’s heads immediately turned to their little brother, who was heading right toward Jeff.

“What the hell?!” Eric exclaimed, pulling Jared over to them and grabbed his head, moving it to the side to get a better look at the mark.

“I thought you were supposed to get him drunk, not find him a mate.” Jordan laughed, getting an annoyed huff from Jared (though that could have been more due to the fact that Eric still had a hold of his head and less to do with Jordan remarks).

“I went into heat.” Jared’s voice slightly muffled due to the fact that Eric still had not let go of him.

“You what?” Eric’s voice was on the line of concerned and dangerous.

“My doctor said that my heats would be irregular for several cycles, near impossible to track,” Jard finally got his head free, “Jeff got me out of there pretty quickly.”

“So when you told me that you were spending the weekend at Jeff’s, you meant….” Eric’s voice was dangerously calm as he turned to look at Jeff.

“It was an accident.” Jeff squeaked out.

“An accident that both of us are totally okay with.” Jared broke in, breaking free of Eric’s hold and going to stand next to Jeff, “By the way, Marc’s coming down after Playoffs.”

“Marc knows already.” Eric growled out, glaring at Jared.

“I called him this morning.” Jared shrugged, “Jeff was supposed to tell you ... and I guess Jordan by extension.”

“Thanks, bro.” Jordan rolled his eyes.

“It’s not like you were going to leave when Jeff said he needed to talk to Eric.”

“Why couldn’t you be the one to tell me something?” Eric exploded, “Every time something happens with you, something important, I have to find out from someone else, usually Marc because he seems to be the only one you actually talk to!”

“Eric -” Jared tried to gather the words to respond.

“Dinner. Tonight. Be over at 4.” Eric snapped, turning and walking out.

“Kid?” Jordan prompted, shaking Jared out of his thoughts as he was in as he continued to stare at the spot Eric vacated.

“I’ll see you guys tonight.” Jared replied, turning to press a quick kiss to Jeff’s cheek before taking off after Eric.

“Should I be worried?” Jeff asked, not looking at Jordan.

“Probably.” Jordan replied, always the blunt one of the family, “I mean, I’m still processing so I can’t guarantee what my reaction will be in a couple hours.”

Jeff just sighed in response.

Jared caught up with Eric in the parking lot.

“What are you doing?” Eric asked as Jared opened the passenger side door and got in the car.

“Lunch?” Jared replied, buckling in, not looking at his older brother.

“What about your car?”

“Tanya dropped me off on the way to Parker’s doctor’s appointment,” Jared replied, “I was gonna get something to eat with Jeff but this seemed more important.”

“Okay,” Eric nodded, “Any place in particular?”

“Up to you.”

They ended up going through a drive thru and then to a park, sitting in the grass on a blanket that Parker had probably thrown up on at some point and just never made it back into the house.  
“You wanna tell me what that was about?” Jared finally broached to topic of Eric’s outburst.

“We never talk.” Eric replied, picking at the grass.

“We talk all the time.”

“You never tell me how you really feel about anything, anytime you need something, I find out from Marc. It’s always Marc who tells me that you’re okay, or when you need space and time, or when you’re slowly dying inside and are completely miserable.”

“I have never told Marc that last thing.”

“I may have exaggerated his words.”

Jared was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts, before saying, “You know, the guy that hit me, when I went down, before I passed out, he spat at me and said that a weak Omega like me had no place in his world, that I would only be useful for breeding.”

“Jay-” Eric’s voice was livid, but Jared refused to look at him.

“Guys have been telling me that since I presented, tried to knock me down, I’ve always been faster, always steadier, than them but I didn’t see him coming. I’ve only talked to Marc about it because he found me two years after I presented, in the locker room, trying to figure out how to get the bruises to fade before I had to go home. I made him swear to never tell you or Jordan, you both were always the ones with the worst tempers and I didn’t want you making a big deal about it. 

And I just kept that mindset. I kept the worst parts of being an Omega to myself, only telling Marc because Marc’s reactions were predictable. He wouldn’t try to fix it, he would just listen. It was what I needed. I didn’t need you worrying, I didn’t need Jordan pissed off at something he couldn’t control. And I realize now that keeping things bottled up until I had a break down with Marc over the phone wasn’t a good idea. And I’m so sorry that decision to only talk to Marc about this stuff hurt you, I am, but I could never bear for you to see me as weak.”

“Jay, you are the strongest person I know.” Eric breathed out, pulling Jared close to him, “You took being an Omega in stride and you pushed yourself to be better. I have personally seen you put many Alpha’s in their place. You will never be an Omega to me, but you will always be my baby brother and I can’t promise to ever stop worrying about you.”

“Well, you get to share that responsibility with Jeff now.” Jared grinned over.

“About that…” Eric trailed off.

“It was an accident. My heat came out of nowhere and Jeff offered to help. He didn’t look like any of the other Alphas who have offered to help with my pseudo-heats, he looked at me like...like I was someone worthwhile. Not like a status symbol, or a way to get under your or Jordan’s skins, or a pretty face...but like I was me, like the chance to help me was what he had been wishing for for a long time. When my heat broke and I saw the mark...I wasn’t angry, like I would have been if it was anyone else I’ve slept with. I was … I can’t really describe the feeling.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Eric gave a small smile, “Speaking of Jeff, do I have to worry about any mini-Skinnys running around?”

“No,” Jared let out a little laugh, “my doctor said that until my heats regulate, I won’t be able to get pregnant, something to do with the remnants of the Suppressant cocktail needed to get completely flushed from my system.”

“Was it that bad?”

“Eric, for ten years, I was taking the highest dose of Suppressants possible, definitely more than recommended. The only reason people knew I was an Omega is because I talked about it. I had the pseudo-heats and they lasted, like eight hours. There’s a lot of backup and my doctor warned that each heat would get worse until they normalized.”

“When are you gonna have the official ceremony?”

“We haven’t even told our parents yet.”

Eric laughed at the annoyed look on his brother’s face, “Well you can always do it tonight.”

“Probably should. There’s only so long Marc can keep this a secret. All it’ll take is one carefully asked ‘How are you?’ from mom and he’ll spill. He did the same thing about my prom date.”

“Come on, hang out at mine. Jeff and Jordan are coming over at 4. You can call mom and dad.”

“Can’t that wait until tomorrow?”

“Nope! But don’t worry, I’ll be there the whole time.”

“Thanks.”

“You’ll always be my baby brother, Jay, and I will always be there to catch you when you stumble.”

Jared blinked back tears and launched himself at Eric, who caught him easily and held him tightly.

On the way back to Eric’s, Jared checked with Jeff on if he wanted to tell their parents together. When Jeff replied that he had already accidentally told one of his sisters, they agreed to tell their families before dinner, Eric sitting next to Jared as he broke the news to their parents, both of whom were ecstatic to have Jeff officially be part of the family.

“How the fuck does someone accidentally bond with someone!?” Jordan exclaimed, walking into Eric’s house as Jared ended the call with their parents.

“I see it’s finally sunk in.” Eric muttered, thankful that Tanya and Parker weren’t home.

“I mean, honestly, how the fuck does that happen?! How the fuck did you not know what was happening!?” Jordan directed at Jared.

“I don’t know if you know how heats work, Jordy, but I was a little out of it.” Jared replied flatly.

“But Sid said you threatened to castrate him if he bit you.”

“Because it was a pseudo-heat and I still had brain function.”

“Crosby tried to bond you?!” Eric exclaimed in a way that told Jared that Crosby was going to the shit beat out of him during the first matchup next season.

“Look, Jordan, from the get-go Jeff was different than anyone else.” Jared tried to placate.

“Oh, I am going to kick his ass in something when he gets here.” Jordan muttered darkly before plopping down next to Jared, “You tell mom and dad?”

“Just got off the phone.” Jared nodded, “He’s telling his family before he comes over tonight.”

“Are you two good?” Jordan gestured between Jared and Eric.

“Yeah,” Eric grinned, “we’re good.”

“Good,” Jordan nodded, “now Jay gets to make up for never telling me anything by getting me a beer and letting me beat him at Mario Kart.”

“Yeah, right.” Jared scoffed.

When Jeff arrived several hours later, it was to find the three brothers in a vicious round of Mario Kart that involved Jordan sitting on Jared trying to restrict his movement and vision and Parker cheering on Jared, who - despite Jordan’s best efforts - was winning.

“You’re here!” Eric grinned over at him as Jared won and Jordan came in third.

“Yeah,” Jeff replied, smiling at Jared, who looked rumpled as he shoved his brother off of him.

“How was telling your folks?” 

“As soon as I hung up, I’m pretty sure my mom called yours and they started planning.”

Eric laughed as Jared stood up and walked over.

“Hi.” Jared breathed out, smiling down at Jeff.

“Hi, yourself.”

Jared brushed his lips over Jeff’s lightly before taking his hand and pulling him over to the couch, placing himself between Jordan and Jeff. 

As the evening wore on, Jared felt himself completely settle since his injury. Sure, he had several heart-to-heart chats with Eric to make up for the years of not talking to him. And he knew that starting tomorrow, he would be fielding several calls a day from not just his mom but Jeff’s about planning the ceremony. And, judging from the look on Jordan’s face, he would be shielding Jeff from any sneak attacks for several weeks at least. 

But as he looked at Jeff, he knew that everything was going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I may make this a series.


End file.
